Rolls for welding coupling-blanks.



Patented luly I7, |900.

G. W. LA V00 &. T. J. BRAY.

BD LLS FOB WELDING CUUPLING BLANKS.

(Application Bled Oct. 31, 1899.)

(No Model.)

NTTED STATES PATENT OEEICE.'

GEORGE W. LA VOO AND THOMAS J. BRAY, -OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE NATIONAL TUBE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE AND NEW YORK, N. Y.

ROLLS FOR WELDING COUPLlNG-BLANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 653.869. dated July 17, 1900.

Application led October 31, 1899. Serial No. 735,362. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, GEORGE NV. LA VO and THOMAS J. BRAY, residents of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rolls for lVelding Cou pling- Blanks; and We do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof. zo Our invention relates to apparatus for the manufacture of rings and like articlessuch as ordinary metal rings, bands, pipe-couplings, thread-protectors, &c.-its object being to provide a suitable set of Welding-rolls i for thispurpose which will insure the bending of the blank to be welded around the central mandrel and prevent the sticking of the same and also will provide for the polishing of the face of the finished ring or band. The 2o usual machine employed for this purpose has a cluster of rolls around a central mandrel, the rolls all being of the same diameter and the blank being fed in between two of the rolls and bent around the mandrel and welded by the contact of the rolls. As such rolls have been heretofore constructed it has been necessary to place a concave-faced guide between the roll over which the heated blank is first fed and the next roll to prevent the 3o blank winding around the roll over which it is fed, and in some cases it is found that the blank would stick between the mandrel and this concave-faced guide, forming what is termed a stickerf7 in which case the blank had to be Withdrawn and reheated. The object of the present invention is to overcome this difficulty, doing away with this concavefaced guide and insuring the positive bending of the blank around the mandrel, while it also provides for the polishing of the blank during welding.

The invention comprises,.generally stated, the employmentin said clusterof rolls of one roll, the one next to that over which the blank is fed, having a greater surface speed than the other rolls, so that it Will act upon the blank and 'insure its being bent properly around the mandrel, this roll being also preferably formed so that its Working face dts 5o close to the adjoining roll by forming annular depressions to receive the flanges of that roll, so thatA in case the blank should tend to turn around the face of the rst roll it will contact with the roll having greater surface speed and be bent up into place.

It also consists in certain other improvements, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

To'enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, We will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompany- 6o ing drawings, in Which-V Figure 1 isacross-sectiou of a rolling-mill, illustrating the invention. Fig. 2 is a viewshoWing the rolls on the line 2 2, Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a side View showing the general plan 65 of the Way of driving.

The apparatus is the ordinary rolling-mill plant, having the housing 3, in which are supported the upper Welding-rolls 1 5 6, While below the same is the sliding bearing 9, carry- 7o ing the rolls 7 8. Fitting Within the rolls is the mandrel 10, around which the blank is Welded. As seen in the drawings, the rolls et 5 6 7 are all provided with ianges 11, which bear upon the mandrel l0 and confine the 75 side edges of the blank to be welded, the rolls beingalso shown with annular ribs or projections 12, employed in order to Weld a number of rings upon the same mandrel and Within the same rolls, set forth in an applica- 8o tion for patent filed by David Heggie October 14, 1899, Serial No. 733,597. The rollS hasa greater surface speed than the other rolls,- this being preferably accomplished by making it of greater diameter, while imparting to it the same number of revolutions, which can be easily done by the ordinary mechanism for driving such a welding-machine, as shown in Fig. 3, Where the train of gears 13 are all driven at the same speed and have 9o connecting-bars 1l extending out to and connecting With the coupling ends 15 of the several rolls by Wabblers 16. In order to prevent the blanks, such as shown at 17, from passing down between the rolls 7 and S, the roll 8 is so 95 mounted that its outer Working face 18 is brought close to the Working face 19 of the roll 7. This is rendered possible by forming on the roll 8 the annular depressions 2O to receive the annular iianges ll of said rolls, roc

and where the rolls are adapted to weld several rings or collars at the saine time the roll 8 has the annular depressions 21 to receive the annular ribs 12 made between the working face 19 of the roll 7, the Working face 1S of the roll 8 being in this way brought close to the working face 19, so that there-is no possibility of the blank passing downwardly between such working faces.

In the use of the invention the rolls are driven in any suitable way, so that the surface speed of the roll 8 is greater than the surface speed of the rolls 4 6 7, the simplest Way being of course to make that roll of greater diameter and drive it at the same number of revolutions. The blanks of suitable length for forming into rings, bands, or couplings are brought to a welding heat and fed to the machine over the roll 7, this being illustrated by the blank 17. In case such blank should have a tendency to turn down and follow the roll 7 instead of following` around the mandrellO it will contact with the working face 1S of the roll S, which as it ts close to the working' face 19 of the roll 7 and is driven atahigher speed than said roll will turn up the blank and positively direct it around the mandrel 10, so that the blank will naturally follow the course around said mandrel and will be finished and welded by the cluster of rolls. As so operated, it is of course clear that the cuter anges 11 and the projecting lips 12, if they are employed, of the rolls 4 5 6 7 finish the side edges of the welded blanks, the roll S not contacting with the edges; but said roll on account of its greater surface speed polishes the faces of the blank and imparts to the same a higher finish than obtained in the ordinary weldingmachine, while the flanges and lips ot the other rolls are sufficient to properly finish the side edges of the blank. After the welding operation is completed the sliding bearing 9 is lowered, the mandrel 10 is withdrawn, and the welded blank stripped therefrom, when the operation can be repeated. NVe are thus enabled to do awaywith any stationary guide for the blank in the machine and to insure the positive guidance of the blank in proper course for winding around the mandreldwhile the welded blanks produced are improved in finish through the polishing action of the roll traveling at greater speed.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a mill for forming rings or like articles,.the combination of a central mandrel and a cluster of rolls around the same, the

roll for giving the initial bend to the blank having its working face traveling at greater surface speed than the working faces of the other rolls of the cluster,'substantially as set forth.

2. In a mill for forming-rings or like articles, the combination of a central mandrel and a cluster of rolls around the same, the roll for giving the initial bendl to the blank being of greater diameter than the other rolls of the cluster, substantially as set forth.

In a mill for forming rings or like articles, the combination of a central mandrel and a cluster of rolls around the same, one of said rolls having flanges at the ends thereof and the adjoining roll having annular depressions within which such flanges fit so as to bring the working faces of the two rolls close to each other, substantially as set forth.

4. In a mill for forming rings or like articles, the combination of a central mandrel and a cluster of rolls around the same, one of said rolls having anges at the ends of its working face and the adjoining roll having a working face traveling at a greater surface speed than that of said flanged roll and having annular depressions to receive the flanges of said roll, whereby such working faces are brought close to each other, substantially as set forth.

5. In a mill for forming rings or like articles, the combination of a central mandrel, and a cluster of rolls around the same, the several rolls of the cluster except one having flanges extending out and bearing on the central mandrel, while the other roll has annular depressions to receive the flanges of one of said rolls, so that the two working faces are brought close to each other.

G. In a mill for forming rings or like arti-` cles, the combination of a central mandrel, and a cluster of rolls `around the same, one of said :rolls having end flanges extending out yand bearing on the central mandrel, and annular projecting lips between its working faces, and the adjoining roll having annular depressions to receive such end flanges and said intermediate projecting lips, substan tially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we, the said GEORGE W. LAVoo and THOMAS J. BRAY, have hereunto set our hands.

GEORGE W. LA VOO. THOMAS J. BRAY.

IVitnesses:

GRAcE C. RAYMOND, ROBERT C. TorTEN. 

